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December 5, 2009

U.S. Insurance Organizations Offer Valuable Time Off

Kansas City, Kan. – With the holiday season in full swing, many employees are looking forward to spending quality time with their friends and family. Whether traveling or spending time at home, time off packages continue to be a valuable asset to U.S. employees. The 2009 Compensation Data Insurance results found exempt employees in their first year are typically given 9.3 vacation days, while non-exempt have 8.6.

Insurance companies offer a variety of time off packages to employees. The 2009 Compensation Data Insurance results found exempt employees have 11.5 days on average after their first year. Those with five to nine years of service earn 14.8 days. In addition to vacation time, both exempt and non-exempt employees receive three personal days and nine holidays a year.

Compensation Data Insurance also reported 77.4 percent of companies allow carryover of vacation days, and 95.8 percent place a limit on the number of days that can be carried over. The maximum number of days allowed for exempt employees is 13.3 days, compared to 12.8 for non-exempt.

“Many employees may not have the funds to take a long distance trip. However, companies are offering unpaid time off to alleviate growing costs. Consequently, the popularity of ‘staycations,’ or vacations at home, is on the rise,” said Amy Kaminski, manager of marketing programs for Compdata Surveys. “Additionally, organizations are continuing to offer flexible schedules as a practical and inexpensive perk.”

Flexible schedules are one way organizations can add value to their benefit package. The 2009 Compensation Data Insurance results found 70.2 percent of companies allow flexible schedules. When comparing prevalence among employee groups, they are most offered to technical/professional employees, 61.8 percent.

About the SurveyCompensation Data 2009 Insurance contains data on over 100 industry-specific job titles and more than 250 benchmark titles ranging from entry-level to top executives. Data is collected annually from employers across the country. The results provide a comprehensive summary of pay data, benefit information and pay practices with an effective date of January 1, 2009.

Compdata Surveys is the nation’s leading compensation and benefits survey data provider. Thousands of U.S. organizations provide data each year ensuring the reliability of our results. Compdata Surveys has been providing comprehensive data at affordable prices to organizations from coast to coast since 1988. For further information about the compensation and benefits surveys, contact Amy Kaminski at (800) 300-9570.